Holder eor meuti-caeds and the like



. M. METZGER.

HOLDER FOR MENU CARDS AND THE LIKE.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1918. 1,319,202.

Patented July 15, 1919.

'mE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

FICE.

MYER METZGER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HOLDER FOR MENU-CARDS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed March 25, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MYER Mn'rzenn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Gookand State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and use ful Improvements in Holders for Menu- Cardsand the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in holders particularly adapted,though not necessarily limited in its use for holding menu cards.

Heretofore holders of this character have been provided with springmembers between which the menu card has been placed, and

considerable difliculty has been experienced in that the patrons haveweakened the spring by drawing the finger or hand between the springmembers when the card is removed, with the result that the card will notbe retained in the holder and will fall over or out of the holder.

To overcome these difiiculties and objections and to provide improvedmeans which will cause the spring members to retain their elasticity andwhich means will prevent injury to the members by the insertion of thehand or finger between the members, is one of the objects of the presentinvention.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features ofnovelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangementof the several parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed andas shown in the accompanying drawings; and in which Figure 1, is a viewin front elevation and partly in section of an improved device of thischaracter constructed in accordance with the principles of thisinvention.

Fig. 2, is a detail horizontal View as taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is a vertical sectional view as taken on line 33, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, is a vlew similar to Fig. 1, of a modified form of theinvention.

Fig. 5, is a horizontal sectional view as taken on line 5-5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6, is a vertical sectional view as taken on line 66, Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1, of still another modified form ofthe invention.

Fig. 8, is a vertical sectional view as taken on line 8-8, Fig. 7.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Serial No. 224,405.

Referring more particularly to the drawmg, the numeral 10, designates asupport of any desired size and constructed of any suitable material,oreferably sheet material shaped to form a tray of any suitableconfiguration.

The holder proper is preferably formed from a single piece of sheetmaterial shaped to form two opposed and cooperating members 11, 12, witha connecting base 13, therebetween, and the members are constructed ofelastic material so that the tendency of the members will be to sprintoward each other so as to hold a card yie dingly therebetween.Obviously the members may be of any desired contour and are of a lengththat when secured to the support 10, they will project for aconsiderable distance thereabove. The members 11, 12 are preferablyshaped to form extended areas for the reception of advertlsing matterand may be secured to the support 10, in any suitable manner such as bymeans of ears or lugs 14, formed in teig'ral with the connecting base13, and w ich are adapted to pass through suitable apertures in thesupport 10, preferably through a raised portion 15, of the support, tothe opposite side of the support and then flanged over against the faceof the support as clearly seen in Fig. 1.

In order to protect the members 11, 12,

' so that they will not lose their elasticity and become useless forholding the card inserted therebetween, by the insertion of the hand orfingers of the patrons while playing with the holder, suitablereinforcing means such as cars or projections 16 may be formed 011 themember 11, adjacent the base 13, but spaced above the support 10, toproject in a direction across the space between the members with theirextremities flanged or bent over the opposite face of the other member12, to limit the separating movement of the members.

Obviously these ears or projections are of a size and shape as not tointerfere with the operation of the device nor the insertion of a cardbetween the members or the withdrawal of the card therefrom:

In the form of the invention as shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the ears orprojections 17 are formed by cutting out a portion of one of the membersat a suitable distance above the support and then passing these earsthrough su'itableapertures or slots 18, in the opposite member andflanging the extremities of the ears against the face of the othermember.

In the form of the invention as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, there is shownanother form of strengthening or protecting device such as a rivet 19,which is adapted to be passed through both of the members 11, 12, servesthe same purpose as the other reinforcing devices.

The members 11, 12, may also be fastened to the support 10, by means ofa rivet 20, if desired, and as shown in Figs. 7 and S the support may beinverted.

With this improvement it will be manifest that it will be impossible todestroy the elasticity or spring of the members 11, 12, by inserting ordrawing anything between the members, and as a result a yieldinggripping of the card between the members will be assured.

While the preferred forms have been herein shown and described, it is tobe understood that various changes may be made in the details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A menu card holder embodying a supporting base, a clamp connectedwith and projecting above the base for a considerable distance, saidclamp embodying cooperating spring members between which the card isyieldingly held, each of said members having extended areas for thereception of advertising matter, and fastening means 'connected with themembers intermediate the base and ends of the members and spaced abovethe base, the said fastening means being disposed within the confines ofthe edges of the members and embodying a fastener supported by one ofthe members and extending through the other member with its extremityflanged against the face of the last recited member, said fastenersoperating to hold the adjacent portions of the clamp members in closeproximity to each other and serving to reinforce the members and limittheir separation, both of saidmembers being adapted to be freely flexedtoward and away from each other.

2. A menu cardholder embodying a supporting base, a clamp, means forsecuring the clamp to the base, said clamp projecting above the base fora considerable distance and embodying cooperating members between whichthe card is yieldingly held, and means connected with the said membersintermediate the base and the ends of the members and'spa'ced above thebase for reinforcing the members and for limiting the separation of themembers, the last recited means embodying aprojection fo'rmed in' tegralwith one of the members, said projection extending in a direction acrossthe space between the members and extending and I through one of themembers with its extremity bent to extend over a portion of the lastrecited member.

3. A menu card holder embodyinga supporting base, a clamp, means forsecuring the clamp to the base, said clamp projecting above the base fora considerable distance and embodying coiiperating members between whichthe card is yieldingly held, and means connected with the said mem bersintermediate the base and the ends of the members and spaced above thebase for reinforcing the members and for limiting the separation of themembers, the last said means embodying an ear or projection formedintegral with one of the members and bent to extend in a vdirectionacross the space between the members, the extremity of th projectionbeing flanged or bent over a portion of the other member.

4. A menu card holder embodying a sup porting base, a clamp, said clampbeing formed from a single piece of sheet material and shaped to formcoeperating spring members having a connecting base therebetween andbetween which members the card is yieldingly held, said base restingupon the support with the said members projecting thereabove, means forsecuring the base and support together, and means spaced above the baseand support and coepe'rating with the said members for limiting theirseparating movement, the last recited means embodying an ear formedintegral with one of the members, the extremity of said ear beingflanged over a portion of the other member.

5. A menu card holder embodying a supporting base, a clamp, said clampbeing formed from a single piece of sheet material and shaped to formcoeperating spring members having a connecting base therebetween andbetween which members the card is yieldingly held, said base restingupon the support with the said members projecting thereabove, means forsecuring the base and support together, and means spaced above the baseand support and cooperating with the said members for limit ing theirseparating movement, the last recited means embodying an ear orprojection formed integral with one of the said members and deflected toextend in a direction across the space between the members, theextremity of said projection being bent to overlap the other member.

6. A menu card holder embodying a clamp formed from a single blank ofsheet material and bent into shape to form (:0- operating clampingmembers with a con-necting base between the members, an ear also on oneof the members and formed integral therewith, said ear being spacedabove the said connecting base and deflected to extend across the spacebetween the members, the

said members having wide or extended surfaces to form a space for thereception of advertising matter, the extremity of the ear being bent orflanged over a portion of the other member for limiting the separatingmovement of the members, a support, and means for securing the supportand the said connecting base together. v

A menu card holder embodying a sup porting base, a clamp connected withand projecting above the base for a considerable distance, said clampembodying cooperating members between which the card is yieldingly held,and fastening means for the members, intermediate the base and ends ofthe members and spaced above the base, the said fastening means beingdisposed within the confines of the edges of said members, saidfastening means operating to hold the adjacent portions of the clampmembers in close proximity to each other and serving to reinforce themembers and limit their separation, both of said members being adaptedto be freely flexed toward and away from each other.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, onthis 19th day of March, A. D. 1918.

MY ER METZGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patent: Washington, D. G.

